Nutrition

Nutrition consultations aim to identify your potential nutritional imbalances and how these may be contributing to your particular symptoms of ill-health.

A detailed case history will be taken and laboratory tests may be recommended.

A personalised, achievable, nutrition programme will then be prescribed to meet your individual needs.

Nutritional therapy - what is it?

Many of us lack the basic raw materials (from food and drink) to function at our best. Intensive farming, pollution, stress, stimulants and an over-reliance on processed foods are just some of the reasons for us being deficient in vital nutrients.

As a result, we may start to get energy slumps, headaches, poor digestion, cravings for sugar, starches or stimulants, or just feel generally sluggish. If this is you, learning how to eat well can be a vitally important addition to whatever medical treatment you are undergoing.

But Nutritional Therapy is not only about understanding the basics of healthy eating. Foods that are good for one person may not be good for another and many of us feel that we are not in optimum health, even though we are eating a supposedly 'healthy' diet. If a medical condition is suspected, you should see your GP.

But sometimes, symptoms may be exacerbated by exposure to toxins (from bacteria, parasites, allergies or chemicals), or because of factors like impaired digestion or absorption, a hormonal and/or brain chemical imbalance or an overburdened immune system.

The nutritional therapist Lorraine Nicolle will work to identify any such potential imbalances that may be contributing to your specific health problems and preventing you from reaching optimal health and peak performance.

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What to expect from a consultation

Before your first appointment you will be required to complete a questionnaire and you may be asked to seek medical advice to investigate any potential underlying disease.

At the initial consultation (allow 75 minutes), a detailed picture of your life story will be taken. This will include your health history, your family history, current and previous medications, psychological and emotional factors, exercise, stress levels, dietary habits and any symptoms of ill-health. These are just some of the many factors that will be discussed in-depth.

In certain circumstances, laboratory tests may be recommended. These enable a more targeted and individualised nutrition programme to be devised and they can also help to monitor your progress as you work through the programme.

You will then be given personalised:

Explanations of dietary and lifestyle factors that may be contributing to your symptoms

Recommendations of appropriate dietary and lifestyle changes

These will be backed up with a pack of information giving clear guidelines on foods that you should add to your diet and any that you should avoid. Menu plans will also be provided, where appropriate.

Any dietary supplements recommended will be tailored to your specific needs and if you are on medication, a check will be made for any potential drug-nutrient interactions. (Please note that dietary supplements are not a substitute for healthy eating or medical drugs). Sometimes supplements are not prescribed until the second consultation (usually lasting 45 minutes), following the analysis of any laboratory test results.

Some people may only need two consultations, while others, who may have more deep-seated issues, may feel the need to come back more often, in order to meet their nutritional health goals.

Occasionally, individuals experience reactions like headaches, skin eruptions or bad breath during the initial stages of nutritional intervention. These are quite normal and this period is usually followed by a sense of well-being and increased energy.

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Is Nutritional Therapy for me?

Do you want to find out if you are getting all the nutrients you need?

Are you looking to optimize your energy levels?

Do you suffer from symptoms of ill-health?

Are you keen to have a healthy old age?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, it may be worth considering nutritional therapy.

Like all nutritional therapists, Lorraine Nicolle recognises that each person is an individual with unique requirements; and she takes time to define a personalised nutrition plan to meet your particular needs, rather than simply rely on a ‘one size fits all’ approach.

How does it work?

Nutritional therapy is the application of nutrition science in the promotion of health and peak performance. It aims to identify potential nutritional and biochemical imbalances and to help you understand how they may be affecting your current state of health.

The types of body processes that are analysed for potential imbalances include:

The digestion and absorption of food and nutrients

The processing of toxins by the liver

The control of blood sugar levels

The regulation of hormones, such as sex hormones, adrenals and thyroid

Immune and inflammatory processes

The metabolism of nutrients to produce energy

The creation and accumulation of oxidative stress

The regulation of brain chemicals

The nutrition programme is created only after listening to your needs, to ensure that you are given goals that are truly realistic and achievable, taking into account the particular pressures and demands of your life.

The underpinning belief systems of Lorraine Nicolle

When considering whether or not to see a complementary health practitioner for the first time, it is invariably helpful to know what sort of belief systems the therapist is basing his/her practice on.

Lorraine Nicolle uses a scientific, evidence-based approach to nutritional therapy. She bases her practice on the following principles:

That each client is biochemically different from the next, and thus has individual needs

That the nutrition intervention should be geared towards helping the person, rather than simply targeting a disease

That the ability of the body to respond to a changing environment and to buffer new and changing ‘stressors’ is crucial to health

That the body functions as a network of interconnected systems, rather than as individual organs functioning autonomously